Ten Years Difference
by Guardian's Robot
Summary: What really happened at the cathedral? This is what I think may have happened if things had gone somewhat differently. Hints of Kain/Riza, onesided Roy/Riza, Ed/Rose and Winry/Ed
1. Look back on yourself

(AN: This is set in the 2003 anime and ignores the movie AND the end of the last episode in that it doesn't have Ed in the world of machines and such like, but AL is in his own body. Also incorporates elements of the manga and the 2009 anime. Also, I'm using the British military ranking system, so if you don't like it, sod off!)

"WHAT?" bellowed a familiar voice in Central HQ.

"If you'll calm down, You'll know that there has been an unconfirmed sighting of Fullmetal in the desert town of Liore, Brigadier-General Mustang." replied the ever-calm, and newly promoted, Lieutenant Colonel Riza Hawkeye.

"How?" he exclaimed much calmer than the previous outburst, "How could he have survived? It's impossible!"

"We'll have to ask him that when he's been brought in for questioning?"

"Questioning? Oh no, I'm not gonna waste time questioning him later, I'm going to be the one who drags his sorry, SHORT, and disobedient arse in here!"

At this a click was heard as the door to the Brigadier-General's office was opened slightly, and a head peered round. A familiar face, black hair, glasses, somewhat skinny-looking and, even after 15 years serving with Mustang, terribly nervous when the Flame Alchemist was getting annoyed.

"U... um, sir?"

"What is it Fuery?"

"W, well, sir, a message has arrived for you, and well..." Kain Fuery trailed off as he saw the fiery glare he was caught in.

"Well? Spit it out, man. Get on with it."

"W, well sir you're not gonna like it."

"Why not?" This time the voice was laced with enough fake suspicion as to allay suspicion only for a few moments.

"W, well sir, It's written in three parts each in a different language: Ishbalan Drachman and Xingnese. It says that you are not to go looking for answers where none are to be found, and to instead look back on yourself to find some of the answers you seek. And that's about it apart from a few other things like a few jibes and jokes and such. A few less than savoury ones at that, sir."

"No signature?" inquired Hawkeye with an eyebrow raised.

"No, ma'am." Fuery replied with as mush aplomb as can be shown when one is moments away from running in terror form a superior officer. Literally.

"Fine then, You can go." Roy said, venom dripping from his voice, not directed at Fuery but at the message he bore.

"Sir!" Fuery said a little too loudly, out of fear and nervousness, and all but scrambled to get out the door.

When again the two were alone Roy stood up from his desk and turned to the large window behind his desk, and peering out waited for Riza's immanent question. Not that it came. And so he pre-empted her waiting for him and turned to her.

"What do you think it means?" He asked

"Sir, it seems to be directed-" She was cut of as he interrupted her.

"I asked what _YOU _thought it means, now who it was directed at. Now answer me, what do you think it means?"

"Sir, if I may speak freely, It seems to me to mean for the recipient of such instructions to look on what they have done that may be worthy of note, Sir.

Mustang broke into a loud belly laugh, worrying all the remaining members of his staff: Havoc, Breda and Fuery. Falman had retired a small handful of years previously saying he wanted to get reacquainted with the remains of his family, such as they were.

Betting was still the main thing done when such events as the Brigadier-General laughing like that.

"50 says he's actually heard good news." -Havoc.

"50 says it's bad news." -Breda.

"100 says it's a rueful laugh and it's neither good nor bad." -Fuery.

Back in his office Roy had finally stopped laughing, tears pricking at his eyes. Wiping them slowly on the finger of his non-alchemical glove, he sat down once again.

Smiling slightly, he began to speak again.

"Worthy of note, HA, I haven't done anything worthy of note an any grand scale except employing Fullmetal and then his brother. Maybe IU am not not looking far enough back. Hmm."

Remaining silent for a few moment Roy began to mutter to himself.

"Ishbalan, Drachman and Xingnese, huh? Who would write in those languages and not in simple amestrian?"

"Someone who knows you and your history."

" Someone who knows..." Trailing off he sank deep into thought steepeling his fingers as he did so

"Well, most people know of my actions in Ishbal, A few would know about Drachma, But I don't know anyone even inside of the military who knows of any connection between me and Xing. Shit, I've never even been there."

"Perhaps it is Edward after all, only he'd be able to tie you to all three. And in such a way, but something doesn't add up. Why in that order?"

"Maybe he wants us to visit them in that order. We are finally at peace with Ishbal and Drachma. But why not just go to Liore and ask Fullmetal, if it's actually him that is."

"Perhaps, if you so wish I can organize a search team to go to Liore to track Edward down."

"No. If it's going to be done I'm going and you're coming with me as are Havoc and the others, objections be damned. And we're taking Colonel Armstrong and Lieutenant-Colonel Elric, Understood?"

"Perfectly sir."

(Change of point of view)

On one of the stools at the town square's café/rest-stop sat a man, with blond hair, glasses covering gold eyes, a dirty-blonde beard, and dressed in a clean-ish brown suit, white gloves each with a different alchemical array sewn in to the back, and crisp black shoes.

" A glass of fruit juice and a bowl of soup, please." His voice cracking from disuse.

" Certainly, and seein' as it's you, it's on the house, any-time your hungry come here and it's always on the house, any-time, noon, midnight, dawn or dusk all free."

"Your too kind, I intended to pay, the full cost and nothing less." His voice still cracking slightly.

"Pssh, Your money's no good here, I guess I'll have ta let you eat for free. Here's your juice, man. Freshly pressed mango juice with orange mixed in to compliment. Your soup'll be a coupl'a minutes though. Just heating up the ol' hob to put the pot on."

"Thanks, your too generous, by far." His voice no longer cracking after having drank a mouthful of juice, grateful for the liquid refreshment.

"So, friend, what's the news? What new tales do you have to tell?

Smirking the blonde began to tell his tales of the adventures he'd had.

(AN: So what do you think?


	2. Storys and sweets

(AN: I see people are actually interested in this story. Amazing, that I could do such a thing. Oops, almost forgot, disclaimer thingie: I don't own FMA in any way what-so-ever.)

Roy Mustang was not one known for his patience, not for several years now, and his dwindling reserves were becoming ever smaller as he waited for his team to finish assembling at the train station. So far only Armstrong, Havoc and Fuery had arrived. Alphonse, Breda and Hawkeye were running late, very late. The only reason the train had not departed yet was Roy's affirmation that if it tried it would likely never see service again.

"Any sign of those three layabouts yet?" said Roy in a terse manner.

"Not yet, Brigadier-General Mustang." Replied the unusually demure Armstrong.

"What is the matter, Armstrong? You're being suspiciously quiet."

"Nothing's wrong sir. I just think that this is another fake is all." He quickly pinched the bridge of his nose before continuing, "I mean why would he return even if he were able, there seems to be no rhyme nor reason to his message, even if the man in Liore did send it."

"Hmm, I see, so you're doubting the veracity of the report sent in, I can see why, it was unconfirmed. But that is why we're taking Alphonse with us. You are here to draw out the person, imposter or not, and Al is to verify if it is Ed or not."

Hurtling towards the station could be heard to be a military staff-car, brakes screeching as it arrived. When it had reached a complete stop out piled the two passengers leaving the driver almost frozen to the steering wheel.

"C'mon, Al, get out of the car. We're late as it is." coaxed a very shaken Breda.

"S-sure, just let my hands r-relax and I'll be out p-presently." stuttered the still terrified Alphonse.

Hawkeye, slightly flustered, made her way as calmly and as collectedly as possible to the train and the waiting members of the group.

"Care to explain why you're almost," Mustang paused to check the large clock on the far wall of the station's platform "forty-five minutes late, Hawkeye?"

"We made a grievous error in that we let Alphonse drive. A harrowing experience I would not care to repeat."

Only Havoc snorted at this seeing as Breda was still coaxing Al to relax, Fuery was preoccupied reading the latest novel in a series he liked and Armstrong was busy making a pot of tea to a recipe that had apparently been 'passed down the Armstrong line for generations'. Only when at last the whole team was assembled did Roy finally decide to reveal in full why they were going to Liore.

"So Flame-boss, Why are we all going to Liore if this is just a routine inspection?" asked Havoc in his respectful yet friendly way.

"We're going because of this report. Hawkeye, if you'd be so kind."

Riza handed out five envelopes each containing a copy of the letter stating the location of the supposed Edward Elric.

"Ed's alive? Whoa!" exclaimed Breda.

"Yeah, who'd of thought that Fullmetal boss is still alive?" said Havoc in his usual way of addressing people.

"The elder Elric is still alive? Impossible!" uttered a confuse Armstrong.

"So, it was from him, I thought so!" Kain all but yelled.

"Brother's alive, how? Wait, what was from him?" queried Alphonse on hearing Kain's outburst.

"Hmm? Oh a message we received addressed to the Brigadier General. No signature though." replied Fuery.

"But how? How could he have survived? No-one's ever survived when it's was on a one-to-one basis."

When all of the personnel were loaded aboard with all their luggage, with surprisingly Armstrong having packed the lightest, The train was finally allowed to depart. The journey would only take two days at normal speeds, but the train was making up for lost time and if it maintained it current speed would arrive a half-day earlier than planned.

Havoc was napping quietly lounged on on of the bench-like seats. Breda was talking animatedly with Armstrong and Alphonse. Kain had taken a bag of sweets from his suitcase and was eating them slowly whilst reading one of the three books he had pile on the table between two of the bench-like seats. Mustang was deep in thought and steepeling his fingers again. Only Riza was up and walking, seeing as she did not like the seats at all. Walking calmly to seat herself beside Kain, she positioned herself so that she did not disrupt his reading.

Musing to herself she absent-mindedly let one of the idle, pointless questions say itself aloud in a quiet way.

"How can men sit on these seats when they are so uncomfortable?"

She was surprised when Kain replied, " My mum once said it was because men have asses of stone."

"What? What did you say, _Captain?_" came the scathing reply.

"I said that-" he was cut off as she interrupted.

"I got that but why did you say it, why now, why here?" she was all but ranting now.

"Because as we are on a train journey that lasts more than a full day we are off of our duties for it's duration. As such we are allowed to say anything we like to anyone we work with superior or not. Doesn't matter because for the next 2 days we're civilians."

(AN: I made that up. It just seems to fit.)

"Oh, I'd forgotten that. So we are."

"Eh, it's alright, your just nervous is all." He looked up and noticed her gaze had landed upon his bag of sweets. " Y'know you _can _have someif you want some. I've got more than enough."

Cautiously she reached into the bag and drew out a small handful of sweets of all different types. Chocolate Mice, thick red and green tube things, coloured gelatinous insects and some large blobs of chocolate were in the handful.

"Where did you get these? Some of them I haven't seen since I was 11!" she said glee evident on her face and in her voice..

" That little shop halfway between the Restaurant and the bank on Gate Street. The mice are ten cenz for twenty, the Dynamite sticks, those are the red and green tubes, are fifty cenz for ten, the bugs are five cenz for fifty and the chocolate coated Brazil-nuts are ten cenz for five. the bag here on the table only cost about two hundred, maybe two hundred and fifty, cenz.

(AN: as far as I can see cenz are like yen. And so I'll use them as such.)

"Only two hundred? I'm going to have to see about going the when we return to Central. How many bags of sweets have you got Kain?"

"Uhm, three or four. Uhm, Oh geez."

"What's wrong?"

"That's the first time you've, uh, called me by only my first name."

(Change in point of view)

The man still sat at the counter, bowl of soup steaming away, talking to the proprietor of the establishment telling him of his travels.

"... And then when I finally got to Caledon, it was like going to Briggs just much wetter, it was also like they spoke different versions of the same language, but they were nice people. This guy I'd travelled with was part of the Albion military and spoke like he'd been born into money, and lots of it. Y'know, real high born just without his head up his own arse. Got to work there for a while, earned a tidy sum too. Nice people, not judgemental at all. But the wet and the cold just wasn't for me, so here I am, back in Liore, where it all started."

"Wow, good stuff, you did real good, I bet Rose'd love to hear that especially if you were the one who told her. Know what I mean..."

"Rose is still here? I thought she'd moved away years ago?"

"Nah, she's too stubborn to do that, the kid's doing well too, she named him for you, ya know. Edward Kane Thomas. He's a good lad. Kinda like you were, rambunctious, adventurous and a little unlucky too." The proprietor said the last part with a hint of sadness.

" What's the matter, He is okay isn't he?"

"Oh he's fine but he seems to take after you in more than those ways, he was in and accidence a few years bake, about three or four I'd say, and he lost both his lower legs, just below the knee. When asked what he wanted done he said he wanted automail fitted when he was able to have it done, he and Rose left for Rush Valley last year and returned two months later with his shiny new limbs and him in a wheelchair. He's still going through the rehab phase."

"Shi~it! Kid's brave, I'll give him that." The man whistled in admiration and surprise.

"So, you got anywhere to stay yet?"

"No, not yet, I don't want to impose on you by staying at your place."

"I'll tell you what, I'll send you to Rose's, she'll always welcome you, you do know that, don't you?"


End file.
